On this date in history

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On this date in history


Today is Friday, March 30, the 89th day of 2007 with 276 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include(CMF-ts4ms);( outofthewoodwork-ts4ms);( vidalq1-ts4ms); Spanish painter Francisco Jose de Goya in 1746; English author Anna Sewell ("Black Beauty") in 1820; English social reformer Charles Booth in 1840; Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh in 1853; Irish dramatist Sean O'Casey in 1880; former CIA Director Richard Helms in 1913; singer Frankie Laine also in 1913; TV host Peter Marshall in 1927 (age 80); actors Richard Dysart in 1929 (age 78), John Astin in 1930 (age 77) and Warren Beatty in 1937 (age 70); British blues/rock guitarist Eric Clapton in 1945 (age 62); actor Paul Reiser in 1957 (age 50); and singers MC Hammer in 1962 (age 45), Tracy Chapman in 1964 (age 43), Celine Dion in 1968 (age 39) and Norah Jones in 1979 (age 28).




On this date in history:


In 1842, Dr. Crawford Long became the first physician to use anesthetic (ether) in surgery.


In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William Seward reached an agreement with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million in gold.


In 1870, following its ratification by the requisite three-fourths of the states, the 15th Amendment, granting African-American men the right to vote was formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution.


In 1923, the Cunard liner "Laconia" arrived in New York City, becoming the first passenger ship to circumnavigate the world, a cruise of 130 days.


In 1975, the South Vietnamese city of Da Nang fell to North Vietnamese forces.


In 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. outside a Washington hotel. White House press secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent and a Washington police officer also were wounded. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity.


In 1995, the compromise "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy allowing homosexuals to serve in the military under certain conditions was struck down by a federal judge in New York as unconstitutional.


In 1998, Armenian Premier Robert Kocharian was elected president in a run-off election in the former Soviet republic.


In 1999, a jury in Oregon awarded $81 million in damages to the family of a smoker who had died from lung cancer. A state judge later reduced the punitive portion to $32 million.


In 2003, an Iraqi spokesman said that 4,000 volunteers from 23 countries were ready to carry out suicide attacks against the U.S.-led coalition.


In 2005, Vatican officials said the ailing Pope John Paul II had a nasal feeding tube inserted after reportedly having trouble swallowing. The next day the 84-year-old pontiff was given the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church.


In 2006, journalist Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, was freed in Baghdad after being held for 82 days by kidnappers.


Also in 2006, the sentencing trial of confessed terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui went to the jury which would decide whether he spends life in prison or is executed.



A thought for the day: it was Mark Twain who said, "Principles have no real force except when one is well-fed."

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On this date in history



Today is Saturday, March 31, the 90th day of 2007 with 275 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include French philosopher Rene Descartes in 1596; Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn in 1732; German chemist Robert Bunsen, inventor of the Bunsen gas burner, in 1811; boxer Jack Johnson, the first black to hold the heavyweight title, in 1878; comedian Henry Morgan in 1915; actor/singer Richard Kiley in 1922; author and motivational speaker Leo Buscaglia in 1924; United Farm Workers President Cesar Chavez in 1927; actor William Daniels, also in 1927 (age 80); former National Hockey League star Gordie Howe in 1928 (age 79); fashion designer Liz Claiborne in 1929 (age 78); author John Jakes in 1932 (age 75); actress Shirley Jones in 1934 (age 73); trumpeter/bandleader Herb Alpert in 1935 (age 72); actors Richard Chamberlain in 1934 (age 73), Christopher Walken in 1943 (age 64), Gabe Kaplan in 1945 (age 62), and Rhea Perlman in 1948 (age 59); former U.S. Vice President Al Gore Jr. also in 1948 (age 59); and actors Ed Marinaro in 1950 (age 57) and Ewan McGregor in 1971 (age 36).



On this date in history:


In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by its designer, Gustave Eiffel, during the Universal Exhibition of Arts and Manufacturers.


In 1948, the U.S. Congress passed the Marshall Aid Act, a plan to rehabilitate war-ravaged Europe.


In 1954, the U.S. Air Force Academy was established at Colorado Springs, Colo.


In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Chinese-occupied Tibet and was granted political asylum in India.


In 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek re-election and simultaneously ordered suspension of U.S. bombing of North Vietnam.


In 1971, U.S. Army Lt. William Calley was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the deaths of 22 Vietnamese civilians in what was called the My Lai massacre.


In 1987, the U.S. State Department ordered home all 28 remaining U.S. Marine guards at the Moscow embassy after two Marines were charged with espionage.


In 1991, the Warsaw Pact formally ended as Soviet commanders surrendered their powers in an agreement between pact members and the Soviet Union.


In 1992, the U.N. Security Council voted to impose air traffic and weapons sanctions against Libya for not surrendering six men wanted by the United States, Britain and France in the bombings of a U.S. jetliner and a French plane.


In 1994, a state of emergency was declared in the South African Zulu homeland of KwaZulu following deadly fighting in the weeks before the country's first universal-suffrage elections.


Also in 1994, the PLO resumed talks with Israel on the implementation of Palestinian self-rule in the occupied territories.


In 1995, a U.S. judge ordered major league baseball owners to reinstate the contract that was in effect before the players' strike began.


In 1998, the U.N. Security Council voted to impose an arms embargo on Yugoslavia after unrest in the Serbian province of Kosovo turned violent.


In 2001, Serbian police and security forces attempted to arrest former President Slobodan Milosevic at his home in Belgrade on charges of corruption while in office. Supporters forced a stand-off that lasted until the next day when Milosevic surrendered peacefully.


In 2003, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri called on U.S. and British forces to withdraw immediately from Iraq because Iraqis were determined to "inflict the final defeat."


In 2004, OPEC ministers agreed to cut crude oil production despite concerns in some nations over oil prices which were near their highest level in 13 years.


Also in 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled the United States breached the rights of 51 Mexicans on death row by not telling them they had consular access.


In 2005, Terri Schiavo, a 41-year-old Florida woman in a persistent vegetative state since 1990, died 14 days after removal of her feeding tube amid a heart-wrenching legal struggle over her fate reaching all the way to the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court.


In 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a British audience toppling Saddam Hussein was the right decision despite thousands of errors made in Iraq.


Also in 2006, rescue workers searched for more victims of a capsized cruise boat during a Persian Gulf party. Fifty-seven people were reported dead and 67 rescued.



A thought for the day: J.W. Fulbright said, "In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but in its effects."

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On this date in history



Today is Sunday, April 1, the 91st day of 2007 with 274 to follow.

This is April Fools' Day.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include (Map Books 4 U –ts4ms) ; German military theorist Prince Otto von Bismarck in 1815; Italian pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni in 1866; Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1873; actors Lon Chaney Sr. in 1883 and Wallace Beery in 1885; actor Toshiro Mifune in 1920; author William Manchester ("Death of a President") in 1922; actresses/singers Jane Powell in 1929 (age 78) and Debbie Reynolds in 1932 (age 75); and actresses Ali McGraw in 1938 (age 69) and Annette O'Toole in 1952 (age 55).




On this date in history:

In 1918, toward the end of World War I, the Royal Air Force was founded. Two months later, Britain began bombing industrial targets in Germany from bases in France.

In 1924, Adolf Hitler was sent to prison for five years after failing in his first effort to take over Germany by force, the unsuccessful "Beer Hall Putsch" in the German state of Bavaria.

In 1945, U.S. forces swarmed ashore on the Japanese island of Okinawa, to begin what would be one of the longest and bloodiest battles of World War II.

In 1979, Iran declared itself an Islamic Republic.

In 1982, the United States formally transferred control of the Panama Canal Zone to the government of Panama.

In 1986, world oil prices dipped below $10 a barrel.

In 1991, Moscow food stores closed to curb panic buying in anticipation of government price increases.

In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush announced a $24 billion aid package to the former Soviet republics.

In 1996, an outbreak of "mad cow" disease forced Britain to plan the mass slaughter of cows.

In 1997, in the first of two reports, the U.S. Justice Department concluded the FBI had erred seriously in its investigation into the July 1996 bombing at Olympic Park in Atlanta.

In 1998, a U.S. judge dismissed the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones against U.S. President Bill Clinton.

In 1999, Canada created a new territory, Nunavut, as a means of providing autonomy for the Inuit people.

In 2001, a U.S. Navy spy plane collided with a Chinese jetfighter off the coast of China. The Chinese plane crashed into the ocean; the damaged U.S. plane landed on the Chinese island of Hainan, where its 24 crewmembers were held for 11 days.

In 2002, the United States and Pakistan announced the capture of a top al-Qaida leader, a major break in their war on terrorism.

In 2003, U.S. Marines rescued Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, who had been held prisoner in Iraq since an ambush on March 23.

Also in 2003, figures released on April 1 listed 46 U.S. military personnel dead in Iraq, seven captured and 16 missing. The British reported 27 dead.

In 2004, four U.S. civilian contractors were killed and mutilated by Iraqi insurgents after their vehicles were stopped in Falluja.

In 2005, Samuel Berger, national security adviser to U.S. President Bill Clinton, pleaded guilty to destroying classified documents he admitted removing from the National Archives.

Also in 2005, all nine people aboard an Australian navy helicopter on a relief mission to earthquake-struck Indonesia died when the chopper crashed.

In 2006, U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts said they think Iran would order global terrorist attacks if U.S. forces struck Iran's nuclear sites.

Also in 2006, all 19 people on board a Brazilian commuter flight were found dead following a crash in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro.


A thought for the day: Marcel Marceau said, "It's good to shut up sometimes."

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On this date in history



Today is Monday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2007 with 273 to follow.

Passover begins at sundown.

The moon is full. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include (Fenman-ts4ms);( brisut-ts4ms); Charlemagne, founder of the Holy Roman Empire, in 742; Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova in 1725; Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen in 1805; French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, creator of the Statue of Liberty, in 1834; French novelist Emile Zola in 1840; surrealist artist Max Ernst in 1891; actors Buddy Ebsen in 1908; Alec Guinness in 1914 and Jack Webb in 1920; Australian auto racer Jack Brabham in 1926; singer/songwriters Marvin Gaye in 1939 and Leon Russell in 1942 (age 65); actress Linda Hunt in 1945 (age 62); literary and cultural critic Camille Paglia and country singer Emmylou Harris, both in 1947 (age 60); actress Pamela Reed in 1949 (age 58); and actor Christopher Meloni ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") in 1961 (age 46).




On this date in history:

In 1513, Ponce De Leon of Spain landed at what's now St. Augustine, Fla., to search for the Fountain of Youth.

In 1792, the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing the U.S. Mint to coin money, all to be inscribed with the Latin words "E Pluribus Unum," a motto meaning "Out of Many, One."

In 1863, rioting erupted in the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va., sparked by an angry crowd's demand for bread at a bakery.

In 1877, the first White House Easter Egg Roll was held.

In 1917, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany.

Also in 1917, Jeannette Rankin, a representative from Montana, took her seat as the first woman elected to Congress.

In 1932, Charles Lindbergh left $50,000 in a New York City cemetery in hope of regaining his kidnapped son. The infant was later found dead. Bruno Hauptmann subsequently was convicted of kidnapping and murder and was executed.

In 1982, Argentine troops stormed the Falkland Islands, overwhelming the small British Royal Marine unit stationed there.

In 1987, the U.S. Senate overrode a Reagan veto by one vote to enact a highway bill that allowed states to raise speed limits to 65 mph in certain areas.

In 1991, Iraq crushed monthlong insurgencies by northern Kurds and southern Shiite Muslims.

In 1992, a New York jury convicted mob boss John Gotti in five killings, racketeering and other charges.

In 1995, an explosion in the city of Gaza killed eight people, including a leader of the military wing of Hamas.

In 2000, Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi suffered a stroke that left him comatose.

In 2003, the White House confirmed that one of the 28 prisoners captured last week in Pakistan was Osama bin Laden's key lieutenant, Abu Zubaydah.

In 2004, a New York judge cited intense media pressure against a juror as he declared a mistrial in the high profile six-month proceeding against Tyco executives Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz.

In 2005, Pope John Paul II, head of the Roman Catholic church for more than a quarter century, died at his Vatican apartment. The 84-year-old pontiff suffered in his final days from a urinary tract infection and a bacterial infection that led to organ failure.

In 2006, U.S. journalist Jill Carroll returned to Boston after being held in Iraq for 82 days by kidnappers. She said she had been forced to do a videotape denouncing the war.

Also in 2006, at least 50 people were killed in Iraq in violence that included a mortar attack, military firefights and roadside bombings.


A thought for the day: U.S. President John Kennedy said, "The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth."

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On this date in history



Today is Tuesday, April 3, the 93rd day of 2007 with 272 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include historian and story writer Washington Irving in 1783; author and naturalist John Burroughs in 1837; publisher Henry Luce in 1898; actress Doris Day in 1924 (age 83) and actor Marlon Brando also in 1924; astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom in 1926; anthropologist Jane Goodall in 1934 (age 73); actress Marsha Mason and entertainer Wayne Newton, both in 1942 (age 65); singer Tony Orlando in 1944 (age 63); actors Alec Baldwin in 1958 (age 49) and David Hyde Pierce in 1959 (age 48); actor/comedian Eddie Murphy in 1961 (age 46); actress Jennie Garth ("Beverly Hills 90210") in 1972 (age 35) and Olympic skier Picabo Street in 1971 (age 36).


On this date in history:

In 1860, the Pony Express postal service began with riders leaving St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif., at the same time.

In 1865, as the Civil War drew to a close, Richmond, Va., and nearby Petersburg surrendered to Union forces.

In 1882, the notorious outlaw Jesse James was shot to death by Robert Ford, a former gang member who hoped to collect the reward on James' head.

In 1936, Richard Bruno Hauptmann was executed for killing the 20-month-old son of Charles A. Lindbergh.

In 1944, in a case out of Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that barring blacks from voting violated the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In 1948, U.S. President Harry Truman signed into law the Marshall Plan, aimed to help European countries recover from World War II.

In 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford said losses in South Vietnam shouldn't be regarded as a sign that U.S. commitments would not be fulfilled elsewhere.

In 1989, Richard M. Daley was elected mayor of Chicago, the post his father had held for 21 years.

In 1991, the U.N. Security Council passed the cease-fire resolution to end the Persian Gulf War.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin had their first summit in Canada.

In 1995, the owners and players of major league baseball approved an agreement, ending what was then the longest strike in sports history.

In 1996, a plane crash in Croatia killed 35 people, including U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and other officials and business leaders.

Also in 1996, the FBI raided a Montana cabin and arrested former college professor Theodore Kaczynski, accusing him of being the Unabomber whose mail bombs had killed three people and injured 23 more since the 1970s.

In 1997, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said construction of a Jewish settlement in Arab East Jerusalem would continue, despite a series of fatal confrontations between Israeli troops and Palestinians.

In 2000, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled that Microsoft had violated U.S. antitrust laws. Microsoft immediately announced that it would appeal the decision.

In 2002, Afghan officials said they had arrested hundreds of people suspected of trying to subvert the country.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush told U.S. Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina that victory was at hand in Iraq. On that day, coalition troops crossed the Tigris River and moved to within 25 miles of Baghdad.

Also in 2003, as cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome mounted the World Health Organization advised against travel to Hong Kong and the Chinese province of Guangdong because of the pneumonia-like illness known as SARS.

In 2004, as Spanish police closed in, three men believed to be behind the Madrid train bombings blew themselves up, also killing one officer and injuring 11 others.

In 2005, Syria said it would withdraw all troops from Lebanon by April 30.

Also in 2005, a study prepared by a panel advising the U.S. Defense Department said that "Muslims in dictatorial regimes" do not yearn to be liberated by the United States.

In 2006, a Virginia jury decided confessed al-Qaida member Zacarias Moussaoui was eligible for the death penalty.


A thought for the day: "Money, the root of all evil ... but the cure for all sadness." Mike Gill said that.

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On this date in history



Today is Saturday, March 31, the 90th day of 2007 with 275 to follow.
The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include (larrytau-ts4ms);( madmitch-ts4ms); French philosopher Rene Descartes in 1596; Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn in 1732; German chemist Robert Bunsen, inventor of the Bunsen gas burner, in 1811; boxer Jack Johnson, the first black to hold the heavyweight title, in 1878; comedian Henry Morgan in 1915; actor/singer Richard Kiley in 1922; author and motivational speaker Leo Buscaglia in 1924; United Farm Workers President Cesar Chavez in 1927; actor William Daniels, also in 1927 (age 80); former National Hockey League star Gordie Howe in 1928 (age 79); fashion designer Liz Claiborne in 1929 (age 78); author John Jakes in 1932 (age 75); actress Shirley Jones in 1934 (age 73); trumpeter/bandleader Herb Alpert in 1935 (age 72); actors Richard Chamberlain in 1934 (age 73), Christopher Walken in 1943 (age 64), Gabe Kaplan in 1945 (age 62), and Rhea Perlman in 1948 (age 59); former U.S. Vice President Al Gore Jr. also in 1948 (age 59); and actors Ed Marinaro in 1950 (age 57) and Ewan McGregor in 1971 (age 36).




On this date in history:

In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by its designer, Gustave Eiffel, during the Universal Exhibition of Arts and Manufacturers.

In 1948, the U.S. Congress passed the Marshall Aid Act, a plan to rehabilitate war-ravaged Europe.

In 1954, the U.S. Air Force Academy was established at Colorado Springs, Colo.

In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Chinese-occupied Tibet and was granted political asylum in India.

In 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek re-election and simultaneously ordered suspension of U.S. bombing of North Vietnam.

In 1971, U.S. Army Lt. William Calley was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the deaths of 22 Vietnamese civilians in what was called the My Lai massacre.

In 1987, the U.S. State Department ordered home all 28 remaining U.S. Marine guards at the Moscow embassy after two Marines were charged with espionage.

In 1991, the Warsaw Pact formally ended as Soviet commanders surrendered their powers in an agreement between pact members and the Soviet Union.

In 1992, the U.N. Security Council voted to impose air traffic and weapons sanctions against Libya for not surrendering six men wanted by the United States, Britain and France in the bombings of a U.S. jetliner and a French plane.

In 1994, a state of emergency was declared in the South African Zulu homeland of KwaZulu following deadly fighting in the weeks before the country's first universal-suffrage elections.

Also in 1994, the PLO resumed talks with Israel on the implementation of Palestinian self-rule in the occupied territories.

In 1995, a U.S. judge ordered major league baseball owners to reinstate the contract that was in effect before the players' strike began.

In 1998, the U.N. Security Council voted to impose an arms embargo on Yugoslavia after unrest in the Serbian province of Kosovo turned violent.

In 2001, Serbian police and security forces attempted to arrest former President Slobodan Milosevic at his home in Belgrade on charges of corruption while in office. Supporters forced a stand-off that lasted until the next day when Milosevic surrendered peacefully.

In 2003, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri called on U.S. and British forces to withdraw immediately from Iraq because Iraqis were determined to "inflict the final defeat."

In 2004, OPEC ministers agreed to cut crude oil production despite concerns in some nations over oil prices which were near their highest level in 13 years.

Also in 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled the United States breached the rights of 51 Mexicans on death row by not telling them they had consular access.

In 2005, Terri Schiavo, a 41-year-old Florida woman in a persistent vegetative state since 1990, died 14 days after removal of her feeding tube amid a heart-wrenching legal struggle over her fate reaching all the way to the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a British audience toppling Saddam Hussein was the right decision despite thousands of errors made in Iraq.

Also in 2006, rescue workers searched for more victims of a capsized cruise boat during a Persian Gulf party. Fifty-seven people were reported dead and 67 rescued.


A thought for the day: J.W. Fulbright said, "In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but in its effects."

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On this date in history



Today is Thursday, April 5, the 95th day of 2007 with 270 to follow.
The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in 1588; Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence and father of U.S. President William Henry Harrison, in 1726; English physician Joseph Lister, who introduced antiseptic surgery, in 1827; educator Booker T. Washington in 1856; actors Spencer Tracy in 1900, Melvyn Douglas in 1901, Bette Davis in 1908 and Gregory Peck in 1916; novelist Arthur Hailey in 1920; filmmaker Roger Corman in 1926 (age 81); impressionist Frank Gorshin in 1933; former U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in 1937 (age 70); actors Michael Moriarty in 1941 (age 66), Max Gail ("Barney Miller") in 1943 (age 64) and Jane Asher in 1946 (age 61); astronaut Judith Resnik in 1949; and actor Mitch Pileggi ("The X-Files") in 1952 (age 55).



On this date in history:

In 1614, Pocahontas, daughter of a chief, married English tobacco planter John Rolfe in Jamestown, Va., a marriage that ensured peace between the settlers and the Powhatan Indians for several years.

In 1768, the first U.S. Chamber of Commerce was founded in New York City.

In 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death in New York for stealing atomic secrets for the Soviet Union.

In 1968, violence erupted in several U.S. cities in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1976, reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes died of kidney failure during a flight from Acapulco, Mexico, to Houston. He was 71.

In 1982, the British fleet sailed to recapture the Falkland Islands from Argentina.

In 1986, two U.S. servicemen and a Turkish woman were killed in the bombing of a West Berlin disco that Washington blamed on Libya. In retaliation, U.S. jetfighters bombed Tripoli and Benghazi 10 days later.

In 1991, former U.S. Sen. John Tower, R-Texas, and 22 others, were killed in a commuter plane crash in Brunswick, Ga.

In 1993, a Salvadoran Boeing 767 jetliner ran off the runway on landing in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and crashed into a residential area. All 213 people aboard the plane survived.

In 1999, one of two men charged in the October 1998 beating death of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two life sentences.

Also in 1999, Libya handed over for trial two suspects in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The men were to be tried in the Netherlands under Scottish law.

In 2002, the International Committee of the Red Cross called Israel's attacks on its vehicles and facilities "totally unacceptable." The Red Cross and others warned of a humanitarian crisis in the occupied lands.

In 2003, members of the U.S. 3rd Infantry moved through southwest Baghdad and reached the center of the Iraqi capital.

In 2004, the California Supreme Court ruled that a defendant who kills a pregnant woman can be charged with murdering the fetus even if he didn't know she was pregnant.

Also in 2004, suspected Maoist rebels torched at least 18 oil tankers carrying fuel from India to Nepal.

In 2005, uneasy U.S. officials feared Iraqi guerrilla leader Abu Musab Zarqawi was behind the well-orchestrated attack on Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison in which 44 U.S. troops were wounded.

Also in 2005, ABC News anchor Peter Jennings told colleagues and friends in an e-mail message that he had lung cancer.

In 2006, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former aide to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, reportedly told a federal grand jury that U.S. President George W. Bush authorized him to leak classified information to a reporter.



A thought for the day: Mother Theresa said, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

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On this date in history


Today is Friday, April 6, the 96th day of 2007 with 269 to follow.
This is Good Friday.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include newspaper editor Joseph Medill in 1823; journalist Lincoln Steffens in 1866; actor Walter Huston in 1884; radio commentator Lowell Thomas in 1892; baseball Hall-of-Famer Gordon "Mickey" Cochrane in 1903; geneticist James Watson in 1928 (age 79); musician Andre Previn in 1929 (age 78); country singer Merle Haggard and actor Billy Dee Williams, both in 1937 (age 70); producer/director Barry Levinson in 1942 (age 65); singer/actress Michelle Phillips in 1944 (age 63); and actors John Ratzenberger ("Cheers") in 1947 (age 60), Marilu Henner ("Taxi") in 1952 (age 55) and Candace Cameron ("Full House") in 1976 (age 31).



On this date in history:

In 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints was founded in a log cabin in Fayette, N.Y.

In 1851, Portland, Ore., was founded.

In 1868, Mormon Church leader Brigham Young married his 27th, and last, wife.

In 1896, the first modern Olympics formally opened at Athens, Greece. The Olympics had last been staged 1,500 years earlier.

In 1909, Robert E. Peary and Matthew Henson reached the North Pole.

In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, propelling America into World War I.

In 1931, nine black youths accused of raping two white women went on trial in Scottsboro, Ala. All were convicted in a hasty trial but by 1950 were free by parole, appeal or escape.

In 1938, Du Pont researchers Roy Plunkett and Jack Rebok accidentally created the chemical compound that was later marketed as Teflon.

In 1947, the first Tony Awards, honoring distinguished work in the theater, were presented in New York City.

In 1968, federal troops and National Guardsmen were ordered out in Chicago, Washington and Detroit, as rioting continued over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1991, Iraq's parliament accepted a permanent cease-fire in the Gulf War.

In 1992, science fiction patriarch Isaac Asimov, 72, died after lengthy illness.

In 1994, the presidents of the African nations of Rwanda and Burundi were killed in a plane crash in Kigali. The incident triggered bloody fighting between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups that left hundreds of thousands of people dead.

Also in 1994, Justice Harry A. Blackmun, who had served on the U.S. Supreme Court since 1970, announced his retirement.

In 1996, rioting broke out in Liberia following the arrest of factional leader Roosevelt Johnson on murder charges.

In 1998, U.S. health officials announced that tamoxifen, a synthetic hormone, prevented breast cancer in women at high risk.

In 2001, the U.S. Senate approved a $1.2 trillion tax cut over 10 years, somewhat less than the $1.6 trillion passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and advocated by U.S. President George W. Bush.

Also in 2001, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted an Algerian man on charges stemming from his arrest at the U.S.-Canadian border in December 1999. Prosecutors said Ahmen Ressam was planning to set off explosions during the millennium celebrations.

In 2003, U.N. officials said they had reports that at least 966 people had been killed three days earlier in a dozen Congolese villages in an area rich in minerals.

In 2004, Jordan cautioned Israel against targeting Palestinian leaders residing on Jordanian territory, warning it would plunge the region into a circle of violence.

In 2004 sports, the University of Connecticut became the first school to win both the Division I men's and women's college basketball championships the same year.

In 2005, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, one of Europe's longest-reigning monarchs, died from multiple organ failure at the age of 81. He was succeeded by Prince Albert, one of three children he had with his late wife, U.S. movie star Grace Kelly.

Also in 2005, strong security was set up in Rome two days before the funeral of Pope John Paul II, including anti-missile systems, NATO forces, fighter jet protection and a warship on standby in the Mediterranean.

In 2006, health officials said bird flu continued to spread. The United Kingdom reported its first case in an infected dead swan in eastern Scotland. The West African nation of Burkino Faso also reported its first case.

Also in 2006, a translation of the so-called Gospel of Judas was released 18 centuries after it was written and 30 years after its discovery in Egypt.


A thought for the day: Mahatma Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

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On this date in history


Today is Saturday, April 7, the 97th day of 2007 with 268 to follow.
The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Mars and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include(GrayFal-ts4ms);( bluke-ts4ms); missionary St. Francis Xavier in 1506; English poet William Wordsworth in 1770; gossip columnist Walter Winchell in 1897; conductor Percy Faith in 1908; singer Billie Holiday in 1915; sitar player Ravi Shankar in 1920 (age 87); actor James Garner in 1928 (age 79); former Defense Department analyst Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, in 1931 (age 76); actor Wayne Rogers in 1933 (age 74); former California Gov. Jerry Brown Jr., in 1938 (age 69); film director Francis Ford Coppola and British TV personality David Frost, both in 1939 (age 68); former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in 1944 (age 63); musician John Oates in 1948 (age 59); actor/marital arts expert Jackie Chan in 1954 (age 53); and actor Russell Crowe in 1964 (age 43).





On this date in history:

In A.D. 30, by many scholars' reckoning, Jesus of Nazareth was crucified in Jerusalem.

In 1862, Union forces under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Confederates at Shiloh, Tenn.

In 1947, millions of Americans were left without telephone service by a nationwide strike. It lasted 23 days.

In 1953, Swedish statesman Dag Hammarskjold was elected secretary-general of the United Nations. He served until his death in a 1961 plane crash.

In 1990, suspected arson fires aboard the ferry Scandinavian Star killed at least 75 people in Scandinavia's worst post-war maritime disaster.

Also in 1990, the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati and its director were indicted on obscenity and child pornography charges for displaying a controversial Robert Mapplethorpe photo exhibit.

In 1991, the United States began airlifting food, water and medical gear to Kurdish refugees at the Iraq-Turkish border.

In 2001, rioting erupted in Cincinnati after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager.

In 2003, a speaker purported to be terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, in a taped message, called on his Islamic supporters to seek martyrdom through suicide attacks on Americans and Britons.

In 2004, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against New York State, challenging the constitutionality of the state's law prohibiting same-sex marriage.

In 2005, the popular painkiller Bextra was removed from the U.S. market and a warning was put on Celebrex after the Food and Drug Administration cautioned that similar prescription drugs could lead to risk of heart attack or stroke.

Also in 2005, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite Muslim, and Jalal Talabani, a Kurdish leader, were named prime minister and president, respectively, in the new Iraqi government.

In 2006, three suicide bombers set off explosives in a Baghdad mosque, killing at least 90 people and injuring an estimated 175.

Also in 2006, the U.S. Senate rejected a compromise immigration reform measure. Debate resumed later in the month,

And, the United States and the European Union suspended financial aid to the Palestinian Authority because its ruling Hamas party refuses to recognize Israel.


A thought for the day: James A. LaFond-Lewis said, "The fearless are merely fearless. People who act in spite of their fear are truly brave."

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On this date in history



Today is Sunday, April 8, the 98th day of 2007 with 267 to follow.
This is Easter Sunday.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, in 1726; pioneer neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing in 1869; actress Mary Pickford in 1892; Olympic figure skater Sonja Henie in 1912; former first lady Betty Ford in 1918 (age 89); comedian Shecky Greene in 1926 (age 81); actor and former ambassador to Mexico John Gavin in 1931 (age 76); U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1938 (age 69); choreographer Michael Bennett of "A Chorus Line" fame in 1943; actor/singer John Schneider in 1954 (age 53); musician Julian Lennon in 1963 (age 44); actresses Robin Wright Penn in 1966 (age 41) and Patricia Arquette in 1968 (age 39); and actor Taran Noah Smith ("Home Improvement") in 1984 (age 23).



On this date in history:

On this day, Buddhists celebrate the commemoration of the birth of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, thought to have lived in India from 563 B.C. to 483 B.C.

In 1917, Austria-Hungary, an ally of Germany, severed diplomatic relations with the United States.

In 1935, U.S. Congress approved the Works Progress Administration, a central part of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal."

In 1952, U.S. President Harry Truman ordered government seizure of the steel industry to avoid a general strike.

In 1960, the U.S. Senate passed the landmark Civil Rights Bill.

In 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth's long-standing career record. Aaron played two more seasons ending with 755 homers.

In 1990, Ryan White, who put the face of a child on AIDS, died of the ailment at age 18.

In 1991, European nations began allowing Polish citizens to enter without visas.

In 1992, former tennis great Arthur Ashe confirmed he had AIDS. He said he contracted the disease from a blood transfusion.

In 1993, Marian Anderson, the first African-American singer to appear at New York's Metropolitan Opera, died at age 91.

In 1994, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, 27, was found dead in his Seattle home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

In 1995, in his book "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam," former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara wrote that he and other U.S. leaders had been "wrong, terribly wrong" about the war.

In 2002, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein temporarily halted his country's oil exports, a move, he said, was aimed at damaging U.S. economy.

In 2003, by April 8, U.S.-led coalition troops had occupied major Iraqi government buildings and organized resistance had melted away.

Also in 2003, missiles fired from Israeli helicopter gun ships killed a leader of the militant Hamas group in Gaza.

In 2004, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice told the 9/11 commission that a report about a possible plane hijacking received by the White House one month before terrorists struck New York and Washington contained mostly "historical information" and made no specific warning about a U.S. attack.

Also in 2004, opponents of the war in Iraq gathered in cities across the United States over the Easter weekend in response to a call to action to protest the war.

In 2005, some 250,000 mourners attended a 3-hour funeral mass for Pope John Paul II in Rome's St. Peter's Square while about 1 million others gathered nearby. Among those in attendance were U.S. President George W. Bush, two former U.S. presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and about 100 world leaders.

Also in 2005, Eric Rudolph agreed to plead guilty to four bombings, including one at the 1966 Olympics in Atlanta, in order to escape the death penalty.

In 2006, a White House spokesman said U.S. President George Bush approved a leak of classified information, as charged in the I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby case, because it served a "public interest" and did not compromise security.

Also in 2006, two diplomats from Niger allegedly faked documents the Bush administration used to support the invasion of Iraq, according to a published report in London.


A thought for the day: there's a Chinese proverb that says, "If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow."

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On this date in history


Today is Monday, April 9, the 99th day of 2007 with 266 to follow.
The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include(Beaglemom3-ts4ms);( SteveH-ts4ms) French poet Charles Baudelaire in 1821; comic actor W.C. Fields in 1879; actor/singer Paul Robeson in 1898; birth control pill inventor Gregory Pincus and actor Ward Bond, both in 1903; former U.S. Sen. James William Fulbright, D-Ark., in 1905; Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner in 1926 (age 81); singer/songwriter Tom Lehrer in 1928 (age 79); rock 'n' roll pioneer Carl Perkins in 1932; actor Jean-Paul Belmondo in 1933 (age 74); comedian Avery Schreiber in 1935; and actors Michael Learned ("The Waltons") in 1939 (age 68), Dennis Quaid in 1954 (age 53) and Keshia Knight Pulliam ("The Cosby Show") in 1979 (age 28).



On this date in history:

In 1816, the first all-black U.S. religious denomination, the AME church, was organized in Philadelphia.

In 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, bringing the Civil War to a close.

In 1866, the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill of 1866, which granted blacks the rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship and formed the basis for the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In 1939, on Easter Sunday, famed African-American contralto Marian Anderson gave a free open-air concert before more than 75,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington after the Daughters of the American Revolution denied her use of Constitution Hall because of her race.

In 1940, Germany invaded Norway and Denmark.

In 1947, a monster tornado roared through at least 12 towns in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, killing 169 people. The twister traveled 221 miles across three states.

In 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration introduced America's first astronauts to the public. The seven men, all military test pilots, were carefully selected from a group of 32 candidates to take part in Project Mercury.

In 1963, by an act of the U.S. Congress, British statesman Winston Churchill became an honorary U.S. citizen.

In 1976, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed on the size of nuclear tests for peaceful use.

In 1979, the government declared the crisis was over at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

In 1989, troops clashed with nationalist demonstrators in the capital of the Soviet republic of Georgia.

In 1991, the Soviet republic of Georgia declared its independence.

In 1992, a federal jury in Miami convicted deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega on cocaine trafficking charges.

In 1996, former U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to 19 months in prison.

In 1997, a government of unity was launched in Angola, three years after the end of the country's 19-year civil war, with the seating of 70 members of the rebel UNITA party in parliament.

In 1998, tornadoes and storms took 39 lives in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.

In 1999, the president of the African nation of Niger was assassinated, reportedly by members of his own guard. Following his death, a military junta led by the commander of the presidential guards took power.

In 2000, Peru's President Alberto Fujimori failed to win a first-round election victory, forcing a run-off in May that he won. However, a vote-fraud scandal forced him to step down later in the year.

In 2003, the mood in Iraq became exuberant as Iraqis, with help from Americans, toppled a 20-foot statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's Firdos Square.

In 2004, in the midst of the bloodiest month of the war, U.S. Marines fought a fierce close-quarters battle with Iraqi rebels.

Also in 2004, authorities in Bulgaria said at least 40 people were injured, some seriously, in a toxic gas attack on a police station in Sofia.

In 2005, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, married Camilla Parker-Bowles, his long-time companion, at Windsor Castle. She took the title Duchess of Cornwall.

Also in 2005, authorities in Lusaka, Zambia, said at least 42 schoolchildren, on their way home at the end of the term, were killed near Lusaka when the truck in which they were riding overturned.

In 2006, a published report said U.S. President George W. Bush was considering military strikes against Iran if necessary to pressure Tehran to abandon its alleged nuclear development program.


A thought for the day: Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote, "Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind."

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On this date in history


Today is Tuesday, April 10, the 100th day of 2007 with 265 to follow.
The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include U.S. Navy Adm. Matthew Perry, who concluded the first treaty between Japan and the United States, in 1794; soldier, diplomat and novelist Lewis Wallace, author of "Ben-Hur," in 1827; William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, in 1829; journalist and publisher Joseph Pulitzer in 1847; Frances Perkins, the first woman U.S. Cabinet member (secretary of labor), in 1882; journalist and diplomat Clare Booth Luce in 1903; actors Harry Morgan in 1915 (age 92), Chuck Connors in 1921, Max von Sydow in 1929 (age 78) and Omar Sharif in 1932 (age 75); former NFL coach and sports commentator John Madden in 1936 (age 71); actors Steven Seagal in 1951 (age 56) and Peter MacNicol in 1954 (age 53); singer/songwriter/producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds in 1958 (age 49); singer Mandy Moore in 1984 (age 23); and actor Haley Joel Osment ("The Sixth Sense") in 1988 (age 19).


On this date in history:

In 1790, merchant Robert Gray docked at Boston Harbor, becoming the first American to circumnavigate the globe. He sailed from Boston in September 1787.

In 1849, William Hunt of New York patented the first safety pin.

In 1864, Austrian Archduke Maximilian became emperor of Mexico.

In 1919, Emiliano Zapata, a leader of peasants and indigenous people during the Mexican Revolution, was ambushed and shot to death in Morelos by government forces.

In 1942, Japanese soldiers herded U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war on Bataan in the Philippines and forced them to march to another camp. During the 6-day "Death March," more than 5,200 Americans and many more Filipinos died.

In 1963, the U.S. nuclear submarine "Thresher" sank in the Atlantic Ocean 220 miles east of Boston. All 129 men on board were lost.

In 1971, the U.S. table tennis team arrived in China, the first U.S. group to penetrate the so-called Bamboo Curtain since the 1950s.

In 1972, during his first visit to the United States in 20 years, movie pioneer and comic genius Charlie Chaplin accepted an honorary Academy Award for his "incalculable" contribution to the art of filmmaking.

In 1991, an Italian ferry headed to Sardinia collided with an oil tanker near Leghorn, Italy, killing 151 passengers and crew. The tanker crew survived.

In 1992, Charles Keating Jr., considered a symbol of the nation's savings and loan debacle, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for securities fraud.

Also in 1992, in formal Gulf War report, the Pentagon said allied bombers destroyed more Iraqi electrical generating facilities than necessary, causing undue postwar hardship on civilians.

In 1994, two U.S aircraft bombed a Serbian command post in Bosnia. It was the first NATO air attack against ground forces.

In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton vetoed a ban on so-called partial birth abortions. The U.S. Congress was unable to override the veto.

In 1997, a U.S. judge in Washington ruled the Line-Item Veto Act of 1996 was unconstitutional.

In 1998, Britain and Ireland reached an agreement aimed at ending the long and bloody dispute over the future of Northern Ireland.

Also in 1998, the anti-impotence drug Viagra went on the market and became one of the best-selling new medications of all time.

In 2000, the Nasdaq plunged 258 points in its second-biggest drop, starting the dramatic fall-off in the value of technology stocks.

In 2003, the United States and Britain launched a massive public relations campaign over the Iraqi airwaves with President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair reading speeches to Iraqis over a jointly run television network.

Also in 2003, the pneumonia-like illness SARS, which sickened thousands and killed more than 100 people, continued to spread to new areas around the globe with Kuwait reporting its first case.

In 2004, the White House made public a key briefing document that warned President George W. Bush before Sept. 11, 2001, of possible al-Qaida attacks inside the United States.

In 2005, about 3,000 Israeli police officers were deployed to Jerusalem's Old City to prevent threatened protests by Jewish militants at the Temple Mount, angry at Israel's plan to remove Jewish settlements from Gaza and the West Bank.

In 2006, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was narrowly beaten in his bid for another term by former Premier Romano Prodi.

Also in 2006, U.N. personnel identified more than 100 new cases of bird flu in central and northern Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, in the past month.


A thought for the day: Pablo Casals said, "Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart."

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On this date in history



Today is Wednesday, April 11, the 101st day of 2007 with 264 to follow.
The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include (TimeshareForums- 2 years old ) American statesman and orator Edward Everett in 1794; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes in 1862; statesman Dean Acheson, secretary of State under President Harry Truman, in 1893; fashion designer Oleg Cassini in 1913; Ethel Kennedy, widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, in 1928 (age 79); actors Joel Grey in 1932 (age 75), Louise Lasser in 1939 (age 68) and Peter Riegert and Meshach Taylor, both in 1947 (age 60); and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Ellen Goodman in 1941 (age 66).




On this date in history:

In 1945, the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany was liberated by Allied troops.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first black player in major league baseball, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In 1951, U.S. President Harry Truman relieved Gen. Douglas MacArthur of his command in Korea.

In 1968, one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

In 1970, the Apollo 13 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on the third U.S. moon-landing mission. The attempt was aborted when an oxygen tank exploded but the astronauts safely returned to Earth.

In 1983, Harold Washington was elected the first black mayor of Chicago.

In 1987, South Africa, extending a 9-month-old state of emergency, barred all protests on behalf of political detainees.

In 1991, Italian Prime Minister-designate Giulio Andreotti formed a coalition Cabinet to serve as Italy's 50th postwar government.

In 1993, nine inmates and one guard were killed when an 11-day riot erupted at the maximum-security Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville.

In 1996, Israel retaliated for bomb attacks by shelling Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. A U.N. refugee camp was struck, killing more than 100 civilians.

Also in 1996, 7-year-old pilot Jessica Dubroff, her father and her flight instructor were killed when their plane crashed on take off from Cheyenne, Wyo.

In 2002, a jury in Cleveland convicted U.S. Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, of racketeering and corruption.

In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush's controversial nomination of Undersecretary of State John Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations drew such sharp criticism that confirmation hearings were set back one week.

Also in 2005, seven people were reported dead and hundreds trapped when a nine-story garment factory collapsed 20 miles from the Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In 2006, Ariel Sharon was officially relieved of his duties as prime minister of Israel when the Cabinet declared him to be permanently incapacitated. Sharon suffered a major stroke on Jan. 4, 2006, and fell into a coma a short time later. He was succeeded by Ehud Olmert.

Also in 2006, more than 1 million U.S. immigrants and their supporters in some 150 cities across the nation rallied peacefully against a congressional clampdown and possible deportations.

And, the leader of the Sicilian Mafia, Bernardo Provenzano, was arrested near Palermo, Italy, after eluding capture for 43 years.


A thought for the day: it was Jerry Seinfeld who said, "A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking."

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On this date in history


Today is Thursday, April 12, the 102nd day of 2007 with 263 to follow.
The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include(madouglas3-ts4ms)
American statesman Henry Clay in 1777; opera singer Lily Pons in 1898; bandleader Lionel Hampton in 1908; actress/dancer Ann Miller in 1923; jazz keyboard player Herbie Hancock in 1940 (age 67); actor Ed O'Neill in 1946 (age 61); author Tom Clancy, talk show host David Letterman and actor Dan Lauria, all in 1947 (age 60); actor/singer David Cassidy in 1950 (age 57); actor Andy Garcia in 1956 (age 51); country singer Vince Gill in 1957 (age 50); and actresses Shannen Doherty in 1971 (age 36), and Claire Danes in 1979 (age 28).




On this date in history:

In 1861, the Civil War began when Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter, S.C.

In 1935, "Your Hit Parade" premiered on radio.

In 1945, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the longest serving president in U.S. history, died of a cerebral hemorrhage at Warm Springs, Ga., three months into his fourth term. About three hours later, U.S. Vice President Harry Truman was sworn in as chief executive.

In 1955, federal health officials announced that the polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk was "safe, potent and effective."

In 1961, the Soviet Union launched the first manned spacecraft. Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth and return safely.

In 1981, the first U.S. space shuttle flight was launched. The flight of Columbia was the first U.S. manned space mission since July 1976.

In 1990, under pressure from environmentalists, three top U.S. tuna canneries -- Heinz, Van Camp and Bumblebee -- announced "dolphin-safe" tuna-catching practices.

In 1992, the European Community announced that a cease-fire accord had been reached in Europe's newest nation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, a former Yugoslav republic. The truce did not last.

In 1993, NATO warplanes began enforcing a no-fly zone over embattled Bosnia-Herzegovina, marking the first time the alliance's forces were used outside its traditional defense area.

In 1994, Israel and the PLO agreed that 9,000 Palestinian police would be stationed in Jericho and the Gaza Strip after the Israeli military withdrawal.

In 1999, a federal judge in Little Rock, Ark., found U.S. President Bill Clinton in contempt of court for lying during his sworn deposition in January 1998, when he testified that he had not had sexual relations with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was fined $1,202.

In 2002, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, after hearing European foreign ministers demand an immediate Israeli pullback from the West Bank, met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon but reached no removal timetable.

Also in 2002, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was overthrown in a military coup but was returned to office two days later riding a wave of public sentiment.

In 2003, Gen. Amir al-Saadi, Saddam Hussein's top science adviser, denied Iraq had any weapons of mass destruction and surrendered to U.S. forces.

Also in 2003, women's rights advocate Martha Burk tried unsuccessfully to disrupt the Masters golf tournament because the hosting Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club had no female members.

In 2004, Iraqi insurgents released 12 hostages of different nationalities in response to pleas by Sunni Muslim clerics.

In 2005, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made a surprise visit to Iraq and urged the quick formation of a new government.

In 2006, the French Parliament voted to replace a controversial labor law that triggered nationwide rioting among youth who feared unjustified dismissals.


A thought for the day: Martha Grimes said, "We don't know who we are until we see what we can do."

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On this date in history



Today is Friday, April 13, the 103rd day of 2007 with 262 to follow.
The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. The evening stars are Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, in 1743; Frank Woolworth, founder of the five-and-dime stores, in 1852; Alfred Butts, inventor of the game "Scrabble," in 1899; Irish playwright Samuel Beckett in 1906; Harold Stassen, former Minnesota governor who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination seven times, in 1907; author Eudora Welty in 1909; actor/singer Howard Keel in 1919; actors Lyle Waggoner in 1935 (age 72), Paul Sorvino in 1939 (age 69) and Tony Dow (Wally on "Leave It To Beaver") in 1945 (age 62); singers Al Green in 1946 (age 61) and Peabo Bryson in 1951 (age 56); band leader and former Bruce Springsteen drummer Max Weinberg in 1951 (age 56); and actors Ron Perlman in 1950 (age 57) and Rick Schroeder in 1970 (age 37).



On this date in history:

In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first African-American to win an Oscar for best actor, honored for his work in "Lillies of the Field."

In 1965, Lawrence Bradford Jr., a 16-year-old from New York City, started work as the first black page to serve in either chamber of Congress.

In 1972, the first major league baseball strike ended, eight days after it began.

In 1984, Christopher Wilder, the FBI's "most wanted man," accidentally killed himself as police moved in to arrest him in New Hampshire. Wilder was a suspect in the deaths, rapes and disappearances of 11 young women in eight states.

In 1987, the Population Reference Bureau reported that the world's population had exceeded 5 billion.

In 1990, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave Lithuania a 2-day ultimatum, threatening to cut off some supplies to the Baltic republic if it did not rescind laws passed since a March 11 declaration of independence.

In 1991, an advance team of U.N. observers arrived in Kuwait City to set up a peacekeeping force along the Kuwait-Iraqi border.

In 1992, construction workers breeched a retaining wall in the Chicago River, sending water flooding through a tunnel system connecting buildings in the downtown area.

Also in 1992, Princess Anne, daughter of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, began divorce proceedings after a 2-year separation from Capt. Mark Phillips.

In 1997, Tiger Woods, 21, won the Masters Tournament, the youngest golfer to accomplish that feat and first African-American to win any of the four major professional golf tournaments for men.

In 2004, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said in Beijing that the United States does not support independence for Taiwan.

In 2005, as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to four bombings that killed two people and injured more than 120. Among the attacks were bombings at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and two abortion clinics. Rudolph was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2006, the head of the U.N. nuclear regulatory agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, urged Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment "until outstanding issues are clarified."


A thought for the day: "We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." Ben Sweetmand said that.